President Trump incorrectly accused Canada of burning down the White House during combative call with Justin Trudeau: report

President Trump waits to speak on the phone in the Oval Office at the White House last year. (NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP/Getty Images)

History is not the Trump administration’s strongest subject.

President Trump incorrectly accused Canada of burning down the White House while on a combative phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month, according to a report.

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Trump’s erroneous jab, which seemingly referred to British troops’ torching of the White House during the War of 1812, came after Trudeau pressed him on how he could justify slapping steel and aluminum sanctions on Canada in the name of “national security,” several people familiar with the matter told CNN.

“Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?” Trump fired, according to the sources.

British troops burned down the White House in retaliation for American soldiers attacking the Canadian town of York, later Toronto during the conflict.

It was not clear how Trudeau reacted to Trump’s remark. A spokesman for Trudeau declined to comment and the White House did not respond to emailed questions.

Trump incorrectly accused Canada of burning down the White House during a combative call with Justin Trudeau, according to a report. (Pool / Getty Images)

One of the sources familiar with the May 25 phone call said it wasn’t clear if Trump was joking.

“To the degree one can ever take what is said as a joke,” the source said. “The impact on Canada and ultimately on workers in the U.S. won’t be a laughing matter.”

Trudeau and American lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have blasted Trump’s announcement last week that he intends to impose tariffs on steel imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada, saying the measures will ultimately hurt everyone involved.

Trump has countered that the tariffs against key U.S. allies are to be imposed out of concern for “national security.”

“This is a dangerous course and should be abandoned immediately,” Corker said in a statement.

Revelations of Trump’s War of 1812 flub came on the heels of top State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert raising eyebrows by invoking the D-Day invasion while talking about the “strong relationship” between the U.S. and Germany.